With King Charles 3rd now on the throne, here’s a little story about how he gave me one heck of a headache for days.
One of the challenges of running a full-service ad agency is the need to be across every single detail.
Details like during the Commonwealth Games, knowing where your mobile billboards can and cannot go. i.e. not into events, not into restricted areas, not even into areas that can be seen by someone attending an event.
And definitely not into the high-security restricted area where the then Prince Charles and Camilla were doing a walkabout.
Oh, and definitely no stopping anywhere.
No Stone Left Unturned ….except for King Charles
We had ride briefings, GPS trackers and maps for the Mobile Billboards Ride Leader so there was no potential for error ….or so we thought!
What we didn’t count on was the Ride Leader being a massive Prince Charles fan and discounting every single directive so he could go and catch a glimpse of his hero.
Just 2 hours after the riders departed for the general event area (where we could legally go and get maximum exposure for our client) we received the first of many phone calls from the Commonwealth Games lawyers:
“Umm, can you please explain why your promotional mobile billboards are inside an event area, then inside the higher restricted area and have been stationary for 45 minutes? Do you know how big the fine is?”
Lessons:
- Never underestimate the power of celebrity
- Never overestimate how much direction people need
- Never underestimate how little people take in
Thanks King!
Cheers
